Obama agenda: 61 days later

The Washington Post is the latest to look at how Democrats rescued health care after Scott Brown's victory two months ago. "The remarkable change in political fortunes thrust Obama into a period of uncertainty and demonstrated the ability of one person to control the balance of power in Washington. On Jan. 19, that person seemed to be Brown. But as the next 61 days would show, culminating in Sunday night's historic vote, the fate of the legislation ultimately rested in the hands of Obama."

Some advice from Dem pollster Stan Greenberg: "One closing suggestion for President Obama. I worry that he is tempted to talk about how 'America waited a hundred years' for this moment, as he did Sunday night, just as Republicans are talking about the dawn of socialism and the Europeanization of America. The health care reform victory was hard politics. The president should learn the bread-and-butter lesson of the last month: focus on telling voters what the insurance companies won't be doing to you any more. And then, create some jobs — that would be a true game changer."

The Globe looks at the substance of the bill and that most of the major changes won't go into effect until 2014. "The law will take effect gradually. A series of modest changes kicks in this year -- tax credits to help small businesses purchase insurance for their employees, a $250 prescription drug rebate for seniors on Medicare who have hit a gap in their coverage, and a ban on excluding children from coverage because of preexisting conditions," the paper writes. "Insurers won't be able to impose lifetime coverage limits or cancel policies unless an enrollee commits fraud, and within six months, the government will set up a high-risk pool to help people with preexisting conditions get coverage."

The New York Daily News: "Obama basks in glow of health care victory, but now comes the hard part: selling it to the people."

The Boston Globe: "Buoyed by a historic victory, President Obama and the Democrats hope to quickly tap the momentum from passage of their big health care bill to advance other initiatives on their political agenda, including curbing greenhouse gases, imposing new rules on Wall Street, and overhauling immigration laws." But Republican pollster Bill McInturff (the GOP half of the NBC/WSJ poll) says "My own view is there's only so many 'profile in courage' votes that the average House or Senate member wants to take. This health care bill has used up enormous political capital." And: "The safer bet for Democrats, in this view, would be to focus on smaller, job-producing spending bills in the months before the 2010 mid-term elections."